Between Your Heart and Mine
by DryadSpeaks
Summary: A Quartie story.  Sequel to "Everything I've Always Wanted to Tell You" and "Let Me Know."  You may want to read those first so this makes better sense.  Obviously I don't own Glee.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Well, here it is…the follow up to "Everything I've Always Wanted to Tell You" and "Let Me Know." If you haven't already read those, you might want to, so this makes sense.**

**This chapter serves as an introduction.**

**After this chapter, POV will be alternating Artie/Quinn…because I write first person far better than third person! I'll make sure to clearly state who's POV it is at the start of each chapter…just in case it's not obvious.**

**For those also reading "All My Dreams" (which isn't related to this), don't worry, that won't suffer…I've written 20 chapters in advance and will be uploading at least one every day. Quartie fans that haven't read that may want to check it out.**

**This story will probably be updated every few days as time allows, unless I get a chance to write a bunch of chapters in advance.**

**Enjoy! Feedback is greatly appreciated.**

Dear Artie,

It was so great to see your name in the return address section of your letter. Since sending that first one, I've spent every day waiting to see if you'd respond. Part of me knew that you would (because you're Artie), and part of me was worried that maybe you wouldn't (because I'm Quinn).

I guess my mother was right…even in the technological age we live in today, nothing beats a handwritten sentiment.

I agree with you. I think we should get together. I'm going to be coming back to town on Saturday the 30th…maybe we can meet at the coffee place on the corner of Main and St. George at 2pm on Sunday afternoon? If that's not convenient for you, send me an email and let me know. I still have the same email address.

Sorry this is so short, I wanted to pop it in the mail before heading out to work.

I'm really looking forward to seeing you.

Love,

Quinn.


	2. Chapter 2

**Artie POV:**

It was like a dream.

There I was, sitting at a little table in the hole in the wall that passes as a coffee shop on the corner of Main and St. George, when she walked in. She looked exactly the same, but different...if that makes sense. It was like she was still the same Quinn from high school, but older. Wiser. And even more beautiful. Sure, only two years had passed, but it might as well have been a lifetime. At least, for me.

I couldn't believe it when I got her letter. Out of everyone I went to school with, Quinn Fabray was the last one I expected to hear from, ever. Well, maybe that's not true...there would probably need to be be icicles in hell if Santana were to contact me.

I couldn't believe that she would actually take the time to handwrite a letter...so much of our lives is controlled by the internet and super fast communications. It was nice to get a letter. I wish more people would write letters, or even pick up the phone...it seems like things such as Facebook and email have become the main way people communicate now...convenient, but also kind of sad.

I probably should have responded to her second letter, but I just couldn't. What if she snapped to her senses and realized that she didn't want to do this? I couldn't take that chance. She said to contact her if that _didn't_ work for me, so I assumed if she heard nothing from me she'd take that as "it works."

I got there about half an hour early, because I wanted to make sure I was already there if she was early too. The thought that maybe she wouldn't show up was in the back of my head, but I couldn't let that get to me. After all, she contacted me, right? Why wouldn't she show up?

Honestly though...after I mailed my response to her first letter, I was sure I'd never hear from her again. I couldn't even really remember what all I had written, but I know that most of it probably didn't make sense. It was like the worst case of word vomit ever, topped with some awkward sprinkles and a nerdy cherry.

I told her things haven't been going well lately in my letter, but didn't really elaborate on that. So much has happened since we left high school...I really would have written her a series of books if I'd gone into it all.

After we graduated, most people that I had been close to moved away, and those that stayed kind of fell out of touch. That summer I ended up having major surgery on my back as a result of complications from my previous spinal cord injury, and then spent the following couple of months in rehab relearning a lot of what I learned after the accident when I was 8 and rebuilding all the muscle I had lost. Apparently there was a ticking time bomb in there just waiting to go off. I'm glad it waited until after I was finished school.

Once I was all fixed up and had regained my independence, it was too late to think about going off to school somewhere, and I resigned myself to a "temporary" job in a local electronics store. Two years later, I was still there. So much for "temporary." I did manage to move out of my parents' house about a year after graduation (much to their dismay) into a small, accessible apartment that was far enough away from them to give me some privacy, but close enough to put my mother's mind at ease.

A few days before I got Quinn's letter, I had been wallowing in self pity, but her letter changed all of that. It gave me hope, that maybe things would be ok, even if they felt hopeless at the time.

I guess my birthday didn't help. I always thought I would accomplish something by the time I turned 20, but apparently not. I just kept telling myself that it was only 20. Not 25. Not 30. Not 40. I still had lots of time, right?

Her letter was like someone folded up an angel, stuffed it into an envelope, stamped it, and sent it to me. Seriously. It was like a message from God. Via Quinn.

I told her I thought about her "so much" since we graduated, but that may have been an understatement. I thought about her at least five times every day, regardless of what was going on. She was like one of those completely unobtainable things that we all lust after but know we'll probably never have.

And then she dropped herself in my lap. Funny how life works, isn't it?

Her face lit up as she spotted me, and she made her way over to the table. When she got close enough, she threw herself at me (at least...it felt like she did. Hard to tell sometimes...).

After a couple of seconds, she backed up enough that we were face to face. I looked into her eyes, and it was like everything else melted away. She looked like she'd been crying. She looked relieved, scared, and happy all at the same time. I will never forget the look on her face at that moment.

She seemed like she wanted to talk, but all that came out was "oh, Artie..." before she burst into tears again and pushed her face back into my neck. I didn't know what else to do, so I just stroked her hair and held her, and told her everything would be ok.

It would be eventually, right?

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this! It kind of didn't go where I had planned (wait...was there a plan?), but I'm fairly happy with it. Next chapter will be some Quinn backstory, and then after that we'll get down to the...details.**

**Oh yes, there will be details. And they will be amazing. (I know I pretty much just said there's no plan, but even without a plan I can tell this is going to be amazing). I know what I want this story to be...I just have to get there.**

**At least we know now why I like to write Artie word vomit so much...I have it too! **

**If anyone has anything specific you'd like to see in here, let me know, and I'll see if I can incorporate it somehow.**

**Feedback greatly appreciated. If you must be negative, please try to say one good thing along with it. Good with the bad, all that stuff. You know the drill.**

**...longest A/N ever. Sorry!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Quinn POV:**

I was so nervous, walking in there to meet Artie.

Scratch that. I was so nervous mailing that first letter to Artie. By the time it got time to walk in there, I was absolutely petrified.

I've thought of Artie almost every day since the last time I saw him. Looking back on the entire time I've known him (at least 12 years), I can't believe I didn't make any sort of move to get closer to him. I was always in the background, but never had the courage to step up and voice my feelings. I know you shouldn't beat yourself up about the past, but if there's one regret I have, it's that I didn't take that step.

Well, I'm taking it now.

He was always so sweet, so kind, so damned lovable. And I just never got my act together. Maybe I cared too much about what other people thought. Or maybe I was too worried that Artie would reject me if I tried. What if I had made my feelings public, and he didn't feel the same way? At the time, that wasn't a risk I felt I could take.

But now I'm different.

The last couple of years have been hard. I thought if I left town I could start fresh somewhere. No one would know I had a baby when I was in high school and gave her up. No one would know I used to be head cheerleader.

And I wouldn't constantly be reminded about my feelings for Artie.

Well, apparently leaving town didn't help with that last one. It was like, no matter where I turned, something reminded me of him. A song on the radio. A dorky sweater vest. A person in a wheelchair. Basically, everything reminded me of Artie.

After I moved, I got a job in a small clothing store. Eventually I worked my way up to be the assistant manager. I hated it. I felt like I was wasting my life. It felt like I should be doing more.

I didn't really make friends after my move...it's hard to meet people in a new town, despite what everyone always says. I attempted some casual dating about three times before I decided that just wasn't going to work. I was too hung up on Artie. He was like the one that got away...and I assumed he didn't even know that.

I was making a semi-comfortable living, but I was so miserable. Most days I just wanted to crawl under a rock and hide from the world. I felt so alone and worthless, and it was eating me inside. I also felt vulnerable and scared. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get myself out of the rut I'd created. I felt like I needed a fresh start to recuperate from my fresh start.

The day I wrote the letter started out like any other. I went to work in the morning, and went home afterwards. As I walked through the door, I glanced up at the calendar, and realized that it was almost _his_ birthday. First I thought about phoning him, but quickly decided against it. If I was going to be rejected, it was not going to be on the phone after a long day's work. Then I thought about emailing him, but that just always seems so impersonal. At that point, I remembered something my mother always told me... "If you want someone to know that you really mean what you're saying, and can't talk to them in person, write them a letter and mail it. A handwritten sentiment is worth so much more than pushing some buttons and hitting send."

I knew what I had to do. I poured my heart and soul onto several sheets of paper, sealed it with a kiss, and mailed it.

Then the hard part came...I had to wait. It didn't take long for Artie's response to arrive...he must have written it the day he got the letter, and sent it right away.

I think I probably read that letter about 30 times before everything sank in.

He had feelings for me too.

He wanted to get together.

He signed his letter "love, Artie."

Wow.

In my reply to him, I said I kept it short because I was on my way to work. That wasn't true...I kept it short because I was scared I would say something that might put him off, and I wanted to make sure could see him in person. He didn't respond to my letter, but I was really only expecting a response if he couldn't make it, so I took his silence to mean he would be there.

So, there I was, the corner of Main and St. George. I was trying so hard to keep it together. I spent most of the drive back to town crying, and had to make a stop to reapply my makeup. I wouldn't have bothered, but the face I saw staring back at me in that mirror looked so old and tired...I didn't want to go to my first "real" meeting with Artie looking like that. It was going to be hard enough. I don't know why I cried so much...fear? Relief? Excitement? Whatever it was...it had been a long time since I cried like that.

When I walked through the door, I saw him right away. He looked so nervous. And cute.

Adorable, actually.

As soon as I got closer to him, it was like everything that was bad in my life went away. His smile was even bigger and brighter than I remembered. It felt like I was doing the right thing for the first time in a long time. It felt like home.

At that moment I knew everything was going to be ok.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed that! Look for the next chapter sometime this weekend. Feedback would be greatly appreciated, as usual.**

**I know the tense shifts a bit...oh well, I needed it to so I could go where I wanted to go. Good thing this isn't some sort of formally-written thing, and it's ok if it's not 100% grammatically correct!**

**Also, just for clarification, in the little universe I've created here Quinn and Artie didn't have much interaction in high school (even less than they have on the show.)**

**I have a bunch of ideas for oneshots floating around in my head...we'll see if any of them materialize into actual stories over the next week or so.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Artie POV:**

Quinn was even more beautiful than I remembered. She was like an angel.

...a sobbing angel clutching my chest and sitting in my lap.

I really had no idea what I was supposed to be doing. I put my arms around her and just held her. What else was I supposed to do? I thought I should probably say something, but I just couldn't come up with the "right" thing to say. Finally I just told her everything would be ok.

After I said that, it was like the tension had melted out of her grip. It was like she had just accepted that as the truth. This kind of worried me, because I had no idea what was going on. What if it wasn't going to be ok? What if it was something bad?

It felt like about an hour, but after ten minutes she sat up and looked me in the eye. She kind of looked like she was going to apologize, and I didn't think that was appropriate...but didn't know what to do, so I just stared back at her. This woman had the ability to render me speechless. I'd never had that before.

Finally she got off me, and sat down in the chair to my right. I was really hoping she'd say something, because I had no idea what I should say.

Apparently she didn't know either, because we ended up exchanging pleasantries and then sitting there in silence for a few minutes. I know...kind of stupid. "Oh, hey, the woman of my dreams just threw herself at me sobbing...let's exchange pleasantries after that."

Finally, she spoke. She went through pretty much every detail of what she'd been through during the last couple of years. She talked about how hard it was on her, and how she wished she could just turn back time and have another chance.

She cried.

I almost cried.

Then I did cry.

After about half an hour, it became apparent that it was my turn to talk. I told her about what I'd been up to, leaving out the more horrific aspects of being in the hospital etc. She cried when I mentioned what had happened...I didn't need to give her any more details.

I told her about my job, and we talked about how we both had so many dreams that were never fulfilled.

We completely lost track of time, and before we knew it, it was evening. I suggested we go down the road and get some dinner, and she readily agreed.

I was so awestruck by the whole situation. We'd never really interacted much, and yet, here we were...it was like we had been together forever. It was like we were meant to be.

It was like lover at first sight. I know...it wasn't first sight, but it was like we were seeing each other for the first time, so that counts, right?

After dinner, she dropped the bomb.

"Artie...how would you feel if I said I wanted to move back to town so we could be together?"

**A/N: Sorry for the delay on this...insane week. I may not be able to update again until about Wednesday, because I have to go out of town for work. I wish I could get some of these chapters written in advance, but it just doesn't seem to be coming together for me. So much to do!**

**Sorry this is a bit on the short side...but look at it this way. Shorter updates = more chapters. Right?**

**Also, sorry if this chapter seems a bit sappy...if you think this is bad, just wait...it's going to get a whole lot sappier, because I am seriously in the mood for incredible Quartie sappiness.**

**I didn't go into detail about what Quinn said to him, because that was covered in the last chapter, and I figured it would be redundant to mention it again now. **

**And now, I will end version 2.0 of the longest A/N ever. **

**Feedback greatly appreciated, as always!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Quinn POV:**

Artie's face was impossible to read. He just stared at me. I guess my statement must have come across as rather sudden.

It wasn't for me, though...I've been thinking about this for a long time.

I used to think I'd never want to move back there. That part of my life was over, and I was going to leave it behind.

But then...

Artie.

Somehow, everything always comes back to him. It always has, and it probably always will.

In my letter I told Artie I was coming back to town, and that we should get together. What I didn't mention was that I was coming back to town because of him, and if he had said no, I wouldn't even have bothered making the trip.

Sure, I was nervous about the whole thing, but I just had a gut feeling that things would work out.

I can see why he'd be shocked about me saying I wanted to move back so we could be together. I mean...just because I'd been thinking about it for months didn't mean it was even something that had entered his mind. If the situation had been reversed, I probably would have been shocked too. Well, shocked and over the moon!

After my little sob-fest, and the ensuing conversation, I felt like I had nothing to lose by throwing that out there too. I felt like, if I was going to do this, I might as well go all the way and see what would happen. I think if he had been going to leave, he would have done that shortly after I collapsed on him, sobbing my eyes out.

But, he's Artie...I'd imagine that leaving isn't something that even entered his head.

He continued to sit there for a while, staring at his hands, his food, the wall, his watch...everything but me.

I felt so terrible. Why did I spring this on him, now? Shouldn't I have waited until at least the next time we saw each other? What if, in doing this, I had fouled any chance of even HAVING a next time?

So, there we were. He was sitting there trying to come up with something, anything to say. I was sitting there mentally flogging myself for screwing everything up. It was one of those situations that must have looked super awkward to everyone sitting around us.

Finally he attempted to stutter out some sort of reply, but then stopped when he realized he wasn't being at all coherent. He was redder than the tomatoes in my salad, and I could almost see the wheels in his brain turning on his face. He was trying to come up with something. Anything.

We sat there a bit more, and I felt worse and worse for thrusting such a huge thing on him. What was I thinking? SO STUPID!

At last, he spoke.

"Quinn..."

**A/N: Cliffhanger, much? hahaha**

**Managed to squeeze in another chapter before things get crazily busy, because this is a fairly short one compared to the others.**

**Next up, Artie's response to all this. Be prepared for mega sapfest, because that's how I roll.**

**(WOW! Shortest A/N ever coming from me! Lol) :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Artie POV: (a little bit of overlap with the last chapter, and then on to the cliffhanger)**

"Artie...how would you feel if I said I wanted to move back to town so we could be together?"

Wait...what? Why were things moving so fast all of a sudden? How did we go from letters to getting together for coffee to dinner to...her moving back so we could be together?

Did I miss something here? I like slow and predictable, not spontaneous and wild!

At the same time I was having this massive tornado of emotions, I also kind of liked the idea of us being together. Me. Together with Quinn Fabray. Bet no one would ever have seen THAT coming, right?

I certainly never would have. At that point in my life, I was pretty sure I was going to become a crazy old cat lady...except I'm not a lady, and I'm allergic to cats. I was pretty sure I'd just be alone forever. They probably would call me the crazy hamster man, or something like that.

I just sat there for what seemed like a really long time, but probably wasn't that long. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how to say it.

I wanted to tell her that I thought that was a bit fast. I wanted to tell her that I was flattered, but that maybe we should get to know each other a bit better first. I mean...we did always have some sort of connection on a higher level that didn't actually involve us having any interaction. Spiritual connection, maybe? I was always aware of her, and according to her letter she was always aware of me...was that enough to base a relationship on? Shouldn't we explore it a little more before she did something radical like move?

Finally, I got the nerve to say something.

"_Quinn...wow. I don't know if I can respond to that in any sort of...coherent way, so I'm just going to talk. Feel free to shut me up at any time._

_I don't even know where to start with this. The idea of you moving here so we can be together is great...and a little scary at the same time. Don't you think we should get to know each other a bit more before you uproot your life and come back here? I mean...what if it doesn't work out? _

_Don't get me wrong...I would be ecstatic at the thought of you being here and us being together...but don't you think we should give it a bit of time and see how things go, first?_

_It's been a long time since I've had anything even close to resembling a relationship with anyone, and I want to make sure I haven't forgotten what to do before we jump into anything."_

Word. Vomit. City.

Her face was completely unreadable. It looked like she agreed, but also like she might be slightly annoyed.

That's what I thought anyway, but I was never overly skilled at interpreting body language, so I decided to just wait. I figured she'd say something eventually.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour but was actually less than two minutes, she nodded. And then she smiled.

She said that she agreed, and that maybe we should slow things down a bit.

For once in my life, I was the voice of reason, instead of being the voice of completely irrational thought mixed with a little dash of crazy.

I'm not sure I like being the voice of reason...it always seems so harsh.

I was worried that I might have upset her, or made her angry, but there was none of that. She looked content.

By this point it was a little after 9 in the evening, and I thought we should probably start winding the evening down. I didn't know where she was staying, and I kind of didn't want to ask, because I had just shot down her wanting to move here to be with me...it would not have been appropriate for me to say "Oh, don't stay in a hotel, I have an extra bedroom."

Yeah...that would have been a total mixed messages situation...not what I was going for.

And yet...when she said "I guess we should get going pretty soon here...I still have to check into my hotel room," I found myself looking up into her beautiful blue eyes...

...and saying, "don't do that. I have an extra bedroom, and you can stay with me if you'd like to."

**A/N: So much for "it'll be a few days before the next chapter"...I rearranged my schedule for today just so I could get this written, because I hate cliffhangers, and felt bad for leaving one.**

**Seriously this time...next chapter won't be up for a few days. :)**

**Feedback greatly appreciated, as always!**

**Also, I need some guidance. Please PLEASE either leave a review or send me a message with regards to this: I want this story to continue. Do you think it would work better to just keep adding to this, or to end it after a bit more, and start a new story about their life together (because, obviously, that's where this is headed...I could never have it any other way. You guys know that). **

**I'm not sure what to do, which is why I'm asking for input. Either way it will continue, because I love this Artie and Quinn...I just need to know what would be most well-received by my lovely readers. I can do both equally well, so let me know! You will be rewarded with cyber cookies and rainbows!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Quinn POV:**

"...you can stay with me if you'd like to."

Oh. My. Gosh.

So much for slowing things down, Artie.

He had reasoned everything out so perfectly...and then he was asking me to stay at his place. Didn't he know that was just a recipe for getting us in a situation he obviously didn't want to be in at the time?

Wait...he's Artie. That thought probably never entered his mind.

I thought about saying no. Really, I did.

But then he looked at me with those blue eyes, and I knew it was game over.

"I'd love to."

There. I said it. If I'd said anything else, I would probably have regretted it for a long, long time.

I was trying so hard not to have my face give away the fact that I was absolutely overjoyed at how the whole situation panned out. I really had intended on staying in a hotel. I had even made a reservation.

Besides, I had no idea where Artie was living, and didn't want to assume that he would let me stay with him, so I planned accordingly.

When I said I'd stay there, there was a flicker of pure elation on his face, quickly followed by one of those looks that I took to mean "..." He looked completely blank.

He was probably trying not to let HIS face give him away either. Over the years I'd gotten really good at hiding my emotions, but this was Artie. How could I ever hide something from him?

As Artie paid for dinner (he insisted, even though I said I'd pay for my half), I went and grabbed my coat.

We went out to the parking lot, and Artie said it would probably work best if I just drove behind him. It wasn't far, and it's not like there was anywhere to actually get lost, so it worked out perfectly. I probably could have found the place by myself, blindfolded, without any directions, but he was so sweet in making sure that I knew exactly where to go, that I just went along with it.

As we approached his door, I noticed he kind of stiffened. It seemed like he was anxious or apprehensive, and I wondered if maybe it was because he rarely had people at his apartment. For me, my apartment was my safe haven, and I wondered if it was a similar situation.

We made our way up the short ramp, and he unlocked and opened the door, moving out of the way so I could step inside.

It was nice and tidy. The first thing I noticed was the massive amount of music equipment stuffed into the living room. I kind of wondered how he actually used all of it without annoying his neighbours to the point of them having him evicted, but I didn't say anything. He had everything anyone could possibly need to make music in there.

At that point I remembered that he worked in an electronics store, so he probably got good deals on things and that's why he had so much equipment.

After we were inside, he showed me down the hallway to his guest bedroom. I noticed that, despite the fact that the apartment was small, everything was open and wide and perfectly accessible for his wheelchair. Judging from the sheer amount of stuff piled everywhere, it seemed to me like he didn't have enough space.

I could relate...my apartment was tiny, and I seemed to accumulate about 40 times more things than I had space for.

I found my mind wandering and thinking about us having a big house together with lots of space for everything before I was snapped back to reality by Artie mentioning that there were extra blankets in the closet if I got cold.

Once my stuff was in the bedroom, he gave me a tour of the rest of it, which included a small kitchen, bathroom, and finally...his bedroom. The quilt on his bed matched his eyes, and I was slightly ashamed by the fact that that might have turned me on a little too much.

I still couldn't believe I was actually in his apartment with him. It was like everything I'd always wanted, only not really how I'd planned.

I still don't know what I was expecting...did I think that I'd just say "we should be together" and he'd jump at the chance?

Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking. I was actually kind of glad when he talked some sense into me over dinner...I didn't want either of us to do something we might regret...we had to be totally ready before taking a big step like moving in together.

It was late, but we decided to watch a bit of tv before we went to bed. We went into the living room, and he gestured toward the couch. Once I was sitting down, I kind of patted the cushion beside me in some sort of attempt to be charming (?). He looked slightly awkward, but finally nodded and moved himself out of his chair and onto the cushion next to me. His motions were so fluid and flawless, I couldn't help but stare.

He noticed, and turned kind of red. Then I turned kind of red. And we both smiled.

After about 15 minutes of silence, he shifted, and I noticed his arm had slid softly around my shoulders. I leaned in, closer, and rested my head on his shoulder. I was kind of surprised...he was incredibly muscular, and soft at the same time. He was so warm, and smelled like...Artie. I don't even know how to describe it. Some sort of mixture of clean and a light cologne. I don't think I'll ever forget that feeling. I felt so comfortable. So safe.

The show we were watching ended, and I found myself staring at the side of his head. After a few seconds, he turned so we were facing each other.

I looked into his eyes, and he looked into mine.

And that was that.

**A/N: I know...super sap fest. I LOVE IT. **

**I've changed the rating of the story...just in case things happen in future chapters. Hahaha**

**Would you guys be for or against "things" happening in future chapters?**

**Sorry this didn't get put up last night...I finished writing it just before I went to bed, and thought I might as well just wait till morning to post it.**

**Feedback always appreciated!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Artie POV:**

I couldn't believe that I'd actually invited Quinn to stay at my place. After the way I'd put my foot in it with regards to the whole "I don't think we should be together yet" thing, this is what I do?

That was running through my mind up until the moment we got to the door. At that point, I was suddenly over it. It's not like I could change it, right?

I was kind of nervous bringing her into my place...I'd had one girl there, once, and that didn't go so well. After that, I kind of stopped trying.

We got her stuff in, and I gave her a tour...it wasn't much, but I still had a bit of pride in the fact that I was living by myself, supporting myself, and just generally being independent.

We decided to watch a bit of tv before heading to bed, and once we were in the living room she gestured that I should join her on the couch. I was a bit nervous about her seeing me transfer out of my chair, but then I decided that was ridiculous, so I moved myself to sit beside her.

We sat side by side for a while, and, when the moment seemed right, I slipped my arm around her shoulders. I know...totally not what I should have been doing, especially after I made it quite clear about how I felt about the situation. She snuggled herself into my shoulder, and it just felt right.

When the show was over, I noticed she was looking at me, so I turned...and was met by the sweetest kiss I have ever experienced. Now, I'm not exactly well-versed in these things, but I'm pretty sure that, on a scale of 1-10, that was about a 56. It. Was. Amazing.

Kissing her was like everything I always knew I wanted but thought I would never get. The fact that Quinn Fabray wanted to be with me was already a huge boost to my self esteem, but this...this was like magic.

After a bit, she pulled away, looking slightly sheepish, but also grinning. I tried my best to look scandalized, but that didn't really work.

She shifted a bit, and said she was sorry if that wasn't what I wanted, but I couldn't even speak at that point.

How could I possibly have thought that it wasn't what I wanted? I know everything was really fast, but still...after that, and after the chemistry I could feel vibrating off the two of us, how could we not give this a shot?

**A/N: Sorry this is kind of short...I've been ridiculously busy. Next chapter probably won't happen until Monday or Tuesday next week, but we'll see how that goes. I have it all planned out, I just need to take the time and actually write it!**

**Feedback always welcome!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Quinn POV:**

I heard Artie mutter something about "taking advantage of a helpless cripple by luring him onto the couch," and when I looked into his face I saw that he was grinning from ear to ear.

Apparently everything he had said at dinner about taking it slowly and seeing where things would go got thrown out the window. I felt slightly guilty, but judging by the expression on his face, my guilt was at least partially unnecessary.

We just sat there in silence for a few minutes, hands entwined on top of a green couch pillow.

I didn't know what to say.

He didn't know what to say.

So we didn't say anything.

He shifted a bit, and I decided it was then or never. I just had to go for it. Since getting back in contact with Artie, it seemed like all I'd done was throw myself at him repeatedly and make completely irrational plans...why stop doing that? Not that it had worked how I hoped it would in the first place, but I figured if I tried enough times, eventually it would work perfectly, and everything would end up going according to my master plan.

Just as I was about to speak, I could tell he was going to say something, so I stopped myself.

"Quinn...wow. I don't even know what to say here. Part of me wants to say that we're going WAY too fast here, and that we need to take a step back and assess the situation, and part of me wants to smack the other part of me for thinking of using the phrase 'assess the situation' when it comes to something as wonderful as this. I don't think that came out right. Does that make sense to you? I should just be quiet now."

I always did love how Artie could say so much in so few words.

Wait...what? That doesn't sound like Artie.

Sorry, what I meant was, I always did love how Artie could use so many words to say something that anyone else could say in about five words.

I took his hand in both of mine, unsure of where the conversation should be going. Was this a good place to bring up the fact again that I wanted to be with him, even if we were being crazy and everything was moving too fast? Should I have told him that I was sorry? What was I supposed to do?

"Can we maybe just forget everything I said about moving too fast? Maybe we should just throw caution to the wind and see what happens."

I was stunned. How did one kiss manage to shift everything so that he was feeling the same way I'd been feeling when we first got together?

Maybe he was always feeling that, but just didn't want me to know. Maybe his whole speech about taking it slow was to try and reel himself back down to earth so that we would act sensibly.

We'd both been through so much...maybe we both needed to start over.

Together.

I decided to delicately approach the topic, and see where things went.

The response I got was not quite what I had been expecting.

**A/N: I really wanted to get this up tonight, so I could go to bed feeling peaceful and knowing that today I contributed enough fanfiction to the universe to last for a couple of days! **

**I hope you enjoyed...feedback always appreciated! Next update will happen faster than this one did!**

**Sorry for the slightly cliffhangeresque ending...the next chapter is going to be A LOT longer, and have A LOT more action than this one did.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Artie POV:**

I was shocked with myself.

I had just told Quinn I thought we should forget everything I'd said about taking it slow.

Judging from her reaction, it was exactly what she'd wanted to hear. She started going on about how maybe we should just start over, together. Forget everything that had happened to both of us.

She said she thought this was our chance to be happy, and maybe we should just take it and run with it.

And then I did something that shocked even me. I said no.

I know...totally screwed that one up. First I told her we should take it slow. Then I told her we should forget that. Then she opened herself up to me and said it was our chance to be happy, and I shot her down.

Sometimes I confuse even myself. I hadn't been drinking, so I couldn't blame it on that. I panicked. I felt like I was going to throw up.

She looked absolutely crushed.

"Quinn..."

She cut me off.

"I can't believe you! Is it so hard for you to see what's staring you in the face right now? I've poured my heart and soul out to you tonight. You even agreed with some of it, and then you say no? MAKE UP YOUR MIND! Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to even come here? I've spent the last two years sitting by myself knowing that the only place I wanted to be was with you, and, after seeing you, I thought that's what you wanted too. Is this some sort of sick joke? Did you just say you'd get together with me tonight, and then lead me on, so you could tear me apart? You knew I was more vulnerable than I HAVE EVER BEEN BEFORE, AND YOU TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THAT. IF YOU WERE LOOKING FOR SOME SORT OF SICK, TWISTED REVENGE FOR WHATEVER YOU FEEL I DID WRONG TO YOU, YOU SURE AS HELL FOUND IT!"

By the time she stopped, she was pretty much just screaming at me incoherently. Her face was soaked with tears, and I felt like the world's biggest asshole.

She was completely right. First I said no. Then I said yes. Then, when it really counted, I got cold feet and said no again. What was wrong with me?

For about the fiftieth time that evening, I was speechless. I didn't know what to say, but I had a feeling that, no matter what I said, it would be the wrong thing. I kind of wished I would be struck by lightning right then and there, so I wouldn't have to deal with it.

My entire life up to that point had been one big string of "oops, I said the wrong thing," and apparently it was getting worse as I got older. I knew I had hurt people before (mostly unintentionally), but never like that. The look on her face almost broke me.

I tried to say something.

"Quinn..."

"Don't. Just don't. I think you've said enough for one night. I'm going to bed now, and I'm leaving tomorrow morning. Don't bother getting up...I can show myself out."

Her words were like daggers, and if looks could kill I'm pretty sure I'd be dead right now.

But...at least she was staying the night. That gave me at least four hours (it was late by that point) to come up with something. Saying "I'm sorry" wouldn't be enough. I had to make it right, and it had to happen fast.

I decided to wait until I stopped hearing movement in her bedroom before heading to bed myself. I already knew I wouldn't be sleeping, so I decided to put all the energy I had left into coming up with something to make her see that I was honestly and truly sorry.

I was completely disgusted with myself. If I didn't know that punching myself in the face repeatedly would have been counter-productive, I would have been doing it.

Well...either that, or I would have run out the door and thrown myself into the street, but due to the fact that I can't run, and the fact that I wasn't sure that I actually wanted to die, that didn't seem like a viable option.

Finally, when it was completely quiet, I rolled myself into my room, and shut the door, being careful to be quiet just in case she was sleeping.

I rolled over to my bed, before deciding I didn't actually want to be in it. I twiddled my thumbs for a bit (didn't even know that was really a real thing), and thought. What could I do to make it up to her? Would she accept an apology, if it were done properly? If I really showed her that I was sorry, and wrong, and stupid, and a thousand other things that were running through my head, would she give me another chance?

How did such a wonderful thing turn into something so ugly and cruel? Why was I such an impossible jerk? She was right, and I was wrong. I WAS WRONG. I should have just shut up while I was ahead.

I sat there for a bit more, deep in thought, and then suddenly it hit me.

I knew what to do.

**A/N: I have mixed feelings about this chapter. I feel like it should have been better than it is.**

**However, it is what it is, and it gets the point across, so there you have it! I've been working on not letting my perfectionistic tendencies get to me too much...which is kind of rough, but also somewhat therapeutic. **

**I'll be posting the next chapter tomorrow! This started out way longer, before I realized I needed to break it into two, and make the second half from Quinn's POV. Sorry, I know I promised a long chapter with a lot of action...at least I delivered half of that! **

**I also just want to take a moment to say how much I am loving that so many people are reading this (and my other stories). You all are making me feel pretty special here :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Quinn POV:**

_It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart  
Without saying a word you can light up the dark  
Try as I may I could never explain  
What I hear when you don't say a thing_

I could hear the soft strumming of a guitar, along with the sweetest voice...a voice that I thought I'd never hear sing again.__

The smile on your face lets me know that you need me  
There's a truth in your eyes sayin' you'll never leave me  
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me if ever I fall  
You say it best when you say nothing at all

He was sitting outside my closed door, serenading me.

And, I have to admit...it was kind of working. I felt like I was melting a little inside.

I was so angry when I went to the bedroom. After I had the door closed, I sat on the bed and just cried for about half an hour, making sure I was quiet so he wouldn't hear what was going on. The apartment was silent for quite a while, before I heard the tell-tale sounds of his wheelchair moving down the hall and into his bedroom. His movements sounded slow and deliberate, and I wondered if he was hurting as much as I was.

I felt kind of bad for yelling at him, but when I replayed the situation in my mind, I decided it was pretty much justified. What was he doing? Why did he flop around like that? Was it that hard for him to commit to something? I mean...I know I threw a lot at him in a very short period of time, but was it really necessary to react like that? Why did he say no, and then yes, and then no?

At first I thought maybe it was his attempt at being cruel, but then I quickly realized that this was Artie I was thinking about...he could never be cruel like that. Something like that was completely below him.

I let him sit there singing for another minute or so, before I got up and opened the door. It was about 6 in the morning, and I hadn't slept at all...I knew I looked awful.

Judging from Artie's appearance, he hadn't slept either. He looked like he'd styled his hair with a lawnmower, and his entire outfit, pants included, was kind of crooked.

And yet...he was still adorably cute.

When he finished the song, he leaned his guitar against the wall and moved a bit closer. I still hadn't said anything, but it looked like he was going to, so I decided to be quiet and see what he had to say.

"Quinn...I am so, so sorry. I know what I did was completely...I don't even know how to describe it. Horrible? Ridiculous? Insane? I got scared."

He looked so nervous.

"Let me be perfectly honest with you. I want to be with you. I want you and me to become 'us.' I think we could have something beautiful. And I want that. You're everything I've ever wanted, and I don't want to lose you because I'm indecisive and afraid of committing to something. I realized that tonight."

If I was melting a bit before, by this point I was a puddle at his feet.

I didn't know what to say. It was clear to me that he was really feeling like an idiot for how he acted. It was also clear that he was being completely sincere.

I had been so certain that I would not accept an apology, no matter what he offered or how he offered it. I knew he would offer something, because, well...it's Artie, but I was completely prepared to turn him away, walk out the door, and never look back.

The words hadn't quite sunk in all the way, and then it hit me... "I want you and me to become 'us.'"

I think he was telling me we should give it a shot.

"Forgive me?"

He looked so sweet...and so ridiculously tired.

"I forgive you. Let's get some sleep."

And off we went to the bedroom.

His bedroom.

Together.

**A/N: I'll say it again...don't own Glee, and I don't own the song "When You Say Nothing at All" either. That was written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz.**

**(By the way...that's my favourite song of all time. It's where the title of this story came from, and if I ever get married, that's what's being played at the wedding.) If you haven't listened to it, find the version by Ronan Keating, and listen to it RIGHT NOW.**

**I think this is my favourite chapter this far! Super sapfest. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Artie POV:**

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was that Quinn was still sound asleep, and had her arms around me. She smelled amazing, and for a moment I thought maybe I was having some sort of dream.

After my little...serenade of her, she grabbed me, took me to my bed, and we both went right to sleep. We were exhausted. By the time I woke up, it was around one in the afternoon.

She looked so cute lying there, like some sort of angel. I didn't want to move for fear of waking her, but after lying there for that long, I really needed to get up. I should probably have moved around a bit a couple of hours earlier, but I was completely passed out.

I leaned over to grab my glasses, and noticed that she was starting to move.

"Quinn?" I asked softly.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she smiled.

"What time is it?"

I looked at the clock, and told her it was a bit after one.

"Oh my God. You didn't have to work today, did you?"

I assured her that I didn't, that it was my day off. She looked relieved.

"I'm sorry to wake you, but I really need to get up," I said. My routine was already thrown off, so I thought I should probably attempt to salvage what was left of the day.

She sat up slowly and announced that she'd make breakfast. I was about to tell her that I wasn't sure if there was any food when I remembered that I had shopped a few days earlier. I knew for certain there was an almost full carton of eggs, and I thought there might be some fruit. I always hated shopping, and tried to do as little of it as possible.

By the time I was ready to face the day, Quinn had made pancakes, bacon, and a fruit salad...the breakfast of champions. It looked great, and smelled even better. She must have found bacon in the freezer, because I knew there wasn't any in the fridge.

She smiled as she directed me to the table, and placed a huge plate in front of me. Cooking never was one of my fortes, so something that didn't come out of a package was generally pretty high on the list of "things that Artie loves."

I had dinner with my parents at least twice a week...I think my mom took pity on the fact that her baby was a horrible cook, and invited me over as often as she thought I'd go just so she could make sure I was eating properly.

Quinn's pancakes were some of the best I'd ever had, and I made sure that she knew that.

After breakfast, we cleared off the table. It looked like Quinn wanted to talk, so I suggested we head into the living room. The kitchen was tiny, and the living room was just way more comfortable, even if it was slightly overcrowded with stuff.

Once we were on the couch, she turned to face me, and started to speak.

"Artie, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for springing so much on you so fast, and for yelling at you last night. I was angry, but after thinking about it for a bit I realized that I probably didn't react quite the way I should have. I knew things were moving too fast...but I was just so desperate for this to work. I've spent the last two years thinking about you, thinking about how I could possibly approach you in a way that would make you want me. I just want someone to love me, and I'm pretty sure I want that someone to be you."

By this point she was crying, and my heart was breaking.

Did she think I wouldn't want her? Had I ever done something to make her think that?

I mean, we hadn't even known each other that well in high school...but I was pretty sure my actions had never indicated that I wanted nothing to do with her.

I didn't want to ask her, but I had to.

"Quinn...do you think I don't want you? Do you think I would have agreed to get together if not wanting you had ever entered my mind?"

She just stared at me, before softly whispering, "I don't know."

Judging from the amount of tears flowing down her cheeks once she made this statement, it was an accurate appraisal of the situation. She really didn't know. Her life was one big mess.

She had talked about being vulnerable the night before, and I knew exactly how she felt. Of course, I didn't say anything to her then, because she was screaming at me incoherently at the time, but I thought maybe this would be a good place to share my thoughts.

I didn't even know where to start. I knew there was no way around the whole thing being kind of awkward and maybe slightly not understandable, but I had to give it a try.

"You talked a lot yesterday, and I thought maybe now I should talk for a bit. Don't get me wrong...I'm not trying to stop you from talking. I just think maybe you should know a couple of things. It might explain some of how I reacted last night. Of course, some of that was just because I don't know when to be quiet and panic under pressure, but most of that came from a place inside me that I use to stuff feelings away when I don't want to deal with them."

She looked slightly stunned. I felt like I'd just spat out the first chapter of a self-help book, but I wasn't going to stop. I had to make sure she understood where i was coming from.

"The last two years have been like I locked myself in a box. I go to work, and then I come home, and the next day I do it again. I see my family sometimes in the evenings, but that's it. That's my life. I don't see people. I've cut myself off from everything, because somewhere inside of me I felt like maybe I wasn't good enough for people.

Someone said when you leave high school you leave all that behind, but I really have a hard time believing that. After so many years of being treated like I was slightly (or seriously) inferior to a lot of people, I started wondering if maybe it was true. Maybe I didn't deserve to be with people. Maybe the fact that only half my body works made me worth less than the guys who are out there walking around doing things. I don't even know. Anyway, what I'm getting at is that I think it's time to get out of this box. I am so, so sorry for what happened yesterday, and I'm just hoping that you can forgive me and give me another chance. I'm sorry if this little speech didn't make any sense. Please, Quinn. Let's try this. I know we can make it work."

By this point, I was a little teary-eyed. I hadn't actually faced how I felt about these things before, and I was feeling a little raw.

By the look on her face, I could tell that she understood. My worries of not making sense were fruitless.

"Artie, I had forgiven you BEFORE you started singing outside my door. Everything was happening so fast, and I guess we both just got caught up in the moment. Or moments. Whatever. I think we should try this whole thing again. Start over. And, if it doesn't work this time, maybe we should start over again. You know, just keep going and going until we get it right. I know we can get it right, and I know you know that too. "

She had forgiven me. I hadn't screwed it all up.

And she was right, I did know that.

**A/N: Do you, my lovely readers, think this is moving too slowly? Is it ok like this? Should I speed it up? Less detail, more action? Let me know your thoughts!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Quinn POV:**

"Artie, I had forgiven you BEFORE you started singing outside my door. Everything was happening so fast, and I guess we both just got caught up in the moment. Or moments. Whatever. I think we should try this whole thing again. Start over. And, if it doesn't work this time, maybe we should start over again. You know, just keep going and going until we get it right. I know we can get it right, and I know you know that too. "

The look on his face when I said that told me that I was right. He did know that.

We were going to give it a try.

Later that afternoon, I called my boss and let her know that I'd be needing some time off. I didn't say why, and she didn't ask. I'd always been a good employee, and I never took vacation time, so I guess she figured she'd just agree. I took two weeks initially, and she said I could have a couple more if I needed them. I think she could tell something major was going on.

We had decided that we were just going to live in the moment, because, really, what else is there? We would have been idiots to pass up a chance to be happy. That's so rare these days for so many people.

He left the room while I made the call...I think he knew it was something I had to do alone. Once I had wrapped that up, I went in search of him.

"I've got two weeks off for now, and I can take two weeks more if I need to. This gives us some time to figure things out."

He looked happy.

"I probably should have asked this, but are you staying here?"

"If I'm welcome, then yes...I'd like that."

His eyes widened.

"Did you think I meant I didn't want you here? Nononononono. I want you here. Very much."

His face was bright red, and he was shifting nervously in his chair.

"I'm glad." I couldn't help but smile.

"Do you want to come with me tomorrow after you're done work to get some of my stuff? As much as I would love to just stay here, two outfits and not a whole lot else aren't going to cut it for a couple of weeks."

He considered this, and said yes. I was glad that I had subconsciously rented an apartment that was wheelchair accessible, so there wouldn't be any problems with him going with me to get my stuff. Not that that was why I had rented the apartment, but it sure made things easier.

We spent the rest of the day talking, and just generally getting to know each other. It was strange...we had become so close, so quickly, and we didn't even really know that much about each other, even though we'd known each other for years.

In just a couple of days we'd ridden a roller coaster of emotions and survived. Things could only get better, and I could tell that Artie was ready to embrace that. And so was I. There was no point in thinking that things were going too fast, because they were going to happen, and there wasn't much we could do to stop them...apparently. Not that we would have tried to.

I hadn't told anyone about what was happening, but then...I didn't really have anyone to tell. I wasn't going to tell my mom anything much. I know Artie had talked to his mom a bit, but I was pretty sure he hadn't given her all the details. I hoped that, when the time for that came, it would be something he would let us do together. I had met his mom once several years earlier, and she seemed very nice. I figured his whole family must be nice, to raise someone as kind and thoughtful as Artie.

I found out so many things about Artie that I hadn't known. I found out that he learned to play the guitar after his accident because his mom thought he needed a hobby, and that's what he chose. I found out that he loved kittens, but couldn't have one because of his allergies and asthma. I found out that he had a collection of Star Wars boxers that were for "viewing purposes only." Whatever that means.

He found out things about me, too. I told him about being a cheerleader in high school, and how it really hadn't prepared me for real life. I also told him about how it felt to watch my family fall apart. We never really fixed that. After I left town, I distanced myself from everything from my "old" life.

Well, everything except Artie. I could never distance myself from him. I told him that, the longer I was away from him, the more I wanted to be near him. I think this was a bit difficult for him to grasp, because up until a few days earlier, he hadn't even really known that I knew he existed. The whole situation was just so strange.

And yet, everything made sense. To me, at least...it was hard to tell if it was making sense for him.

Eventually, I decided I should probably make us some dinner. I mentioned this to Artie, and he quickly said not to bother, that he would order something.

After he'd ordered Chinese, he admitted that the reason he didn't want me to cook was that he was pretty sure there was no decent food. I said we'd go shopping and get some groceries, so I could cook for him. Judging from the look on his face, he approved.

When the Chinese arrived, we sat at the small table, and ate. I hadn't realized how hungry I was, and the food was even more delicious than I remembered. They just did something special there, and I had never tasted Chinese quite like it from anywhere else.

After dinner, we went back into the living room to sit down and talk some more. I didn't know it was possible for two people to talk so much, but we did.

At one point, I felt like we could just spend the rest of our lives talking, and still not learn everything about each other.

I don't remember how we got there, but eventually Artie talked about the accident that had put him in his wheelchair. I had heard things about it around school, but it wasn't really something he talked about, and it's not like I would have asked him back then.

His eyes glazed over a little as he talked about it. I could tell that, even after 12 years, it was still a touchy area for him to talk about. He talked about how he felt back then, and about how he felt now. When he told me what happened, and how badly he had been injured, I cried. I had known that he had been in a car accident, but I didn't know it had been that bad. I mean...obviously it was bad, or he wouldn't have been paralyzed, but it was even worse than I had imagined.

He could see that it was really bothering me, so he quickly changed the subject to something lighter. I think where the conversation had headed was bothering him too.

Eventually, we got back on the topic of going to get some of my stuff. He said we should probably clear out some closet and drawer space somewhere, and we attempted to do that. Finally we just threw a bunch of things into the closet in the guest bedroom. I wanted to suggest we just pile things on the bed, but I thought it was kind of presumptuous of me to think I'd be sleeping in his bed with him, so I kept quiet. I wanted him to make the first move on that. After all, it was his house.

As it got closer and closer to time to go to bed, I wondered more and more. Would he assume that I was going to be sleeping in his bed? The spare bedroom?

"Quinn, I think we should go to bed if I'm going to go to work tomorrow morning and we want to go to your place afterwards...it's going to be a long day."

I waited to see if he'd say anything.

"It's completely up to you, but I would really like it if you slept in my bed tonight. That was so warm and comfortable this morning...I think we should do it again."

I smiled, and he took this to mean that I agreed. Which I did.

He was right. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

**A/N: Sorry for the huge delay in getting this up! I'll try to be more prompt with my next update.**

**I've just been so busy with everything that's been going on. I'm sure you all understand! :)**

**Feedback always greatly appreciated! As you'll notice, this chapter has a lot less dialogue than the past few chapters.**

**Which do you prefer? More dialogue, less detail? More detail, less dialogue? Let me know!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Artie POV:**

It was a ridiculously long day. It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't needed to go to work before we went to get some of her stuff. I think that's what did me in.

I woke up when my alarm went off in the morning. Quinn was nowhere to be found, and I panicked for a moment, before I realized someone was moving around in the kitchen. Either it was her, or there was a burglar in the kitchen...making food, from the smell of things.

I got up and got ready for work, and by the time I got out to the kitchen, there was a nice plate of breakfast sitting at my place at the table. There was even a little vase with one flower in it (I have no idea where she got that). I felt like I was having room service, in my own house.

"I woke up, so I thought I'd make you breakfast. I thought maybe if you had a nice start to the day, it would make it go faster."

So adorable. I thought about telling her that I'd already had the nicest start to the day, simply because I knew she was there, but decided against that, because I thought it might sound a little too corny.

After breakfast, I had to leave for work. She said she wasn't sure what she was going to do all day, but that she'd find something to keep her occupied. This led me to believe that she'd watch tv, do something on the computer, maybe go out...something like that. What I was not expecting was that she was going to clean the entire apartment from top to bottom, and organize things. I was only gone for 5 hours (short work day)...I don't know how she managed to get that much done in such a short period of time. I called her on my break, and she said she had just done a bit of tidying up.

When I went through the door into the apartment, the first thing I noticed was that there was a doily and a plant on a table.

Really. A doily. She must have gone out, because I sure didn't own anything resembling that. As I went further in, I realized that there were a couple more, as well as a couple more plants, and a bunch of stuff was changed around. Not how I would have done it, but I will admit...it looked great.

But seriously...doilies?

My heart jumped slightly at the thought that maybe the purchase of doilies meant she was planning on sticking around for a while. A long while. How great would that be? I just ignored the little voice that was whispering in my ear that things were going too fast.

The apartment was very quiet, so I decided to check in the living room and see where she was.

There she was, passed out on the couch, half covered by a blanket. She looked so beautiful. It made me totally forget that I was going to say something about how Artie Abrams doesn't have doilies in his house.

Apparently Artie Abrams and Quinn Fabray DO have doilies in their house, from the look of things. I supposed I was just going to have to get used to it.

There it was again. "Our" house. Were the doilies some kind of sign, or just decorative? I was confused, and thought I should bring it up at some point.

When I got closer, she opened her eyes, and yawned.

"Oh...I must have fallen asleep. Are you back already?"

I just smiled. "I see you cleaned a bit...Quinn, you didn't need to do that."

She said that she didn't do it because she "needed" to, she did it because she wanted to. I thought about cracking a joke about how the place needed a woman's touch, but kept quiet.

We had some food, and then decided we'd better get going if we wanted to grab her stuff. It was still fairly early in the day, only about 2:30, so we thought there would be lots of time. She said she'd made a list of what she wanted to get, and we set off.

She decided that we should take my car, because there would be more space for stuff. Her car was tiny, and my chair would have pretty much filled the back seat...the tiny trunk definitely wouldn't have been enough. I was fine with that...my car was probably more comfortably anyway, especially for a longer trip.

It took us about an hour to get there. We talked about all sorts of things, and by the time we got there I was even more certain that I wanted us to have something long-term...just in case I was doubting that before...which I still might have been, but she didn't need to know that. If someone had told me even a month earlier that I would be swept into a crazy whirlwind of love action, I wouldn't have believed them. I actually still couldn't believe it was happening.

We pulled into her apartment building, and when we entered her apartment, the first thing I noticed was that the walls were painted bright, cheerful colours. Very different from my boring place.

There was art on several of the walls, and I got close enough to one of the paintings to see a small "QF" in the corner. It was then that I realized she'd painted the picture, and several others, herself. They were gorgeous! I didn't know she could paint!

I stayed in the living room, admiring her artwork, until I heard a crash come from the bedroom, followed by a flurry of swearing.

I thought I'd better check to make sure everything was ok, so I wheeled down the hallway and around the corner into the bedroom.

"Artie! I touched one thing on the shelf, and the entire thing collapsed," she said, pointing to her closet.

I moved closer, so I could get a better look at it.

"I'm pretty sure we can fix this. Do you have a hammer?"

She left, and came back with the tiniest hammer I'd ever seen. It was cute, and definitely suitable for doing smaller things, but I wasn't sure if it would work for shelf-fixing. As I went in to try to fix it, I realized that my chair wouldn't fit into the space I needed to be in so I could do it.

Quinn, also realizing it wasn't going to work, tried to move some things so I could get closer, before throwing up her hands and announcing that she was just going to leave it...she wanted to take most of those things with her anyway.

Finally, after about an hour, she had packed up three suitcases of clothes and other things that she thought she'd need. I had no idea where we were going to fit everything, but I didn't say that to her. We'd figure something out, right?

As we were leaving, she turned and ran back in.

"I forgot something," she said. Two minutes later, she emerged with a painting under her arm.

It was the painting I'd been admiring when we had arrived. A beautiful fractal of all different colours. The work was so intricate...I could tell that it had taken her forever to paint it.

She saw me looking at it, and handed it to me.

"I painted this for you last year. I'm not very good at painting real things, like landscapes and stuff, but when I started painting this, it just reminded me of you. You know...the colours, and the patterns."

"Ah, yes, reminiscent of some of my sweater vests, isn't it?"

She laughed, and smacked me.

"Thank you Quinn, this is beautiful. I was looking at it when we got here. I know just where we're going to hang it at my place, too!"

I couldn't believe she'd painted something for me. It was a very sentimental moment...I may have teared up a bit.

She snapped me out of my sentiment, by saying that we'd better get back, or I'd be way too tired at work the next day.

The drive back was kind of quiet. I could tell she was thinking hard about things, so I thought I'd better just be quiet and drive.

It was almost dark when we got back, and we were fast getting everything inside. I took the painting first, because it looked like it might rain, and I didn't want it to get wet.

She said she'd deal with her stuff the next day while I was at work, and we settled onto the couch to cuddle a bit before going to bed.

It had only been a few days, but already it felt like we'd been together forever. That feeling wasn't something I'd ever experienced.

I felt so great, that I didn't even mention the doilies. I could live with them, if it would mean that I got to have her too.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed that! Be looking for the next update sometime Sunday.**

**My Friday night consisted of me sitting on the couch listening to selections from Glee, eating Subway and writing fanfiction. I'm not sure if this is really awesome, or if I've reached a new low.**

**If parts of this are incoherent or sound like they're just rambling on, please chalk that up to Artie being Artie, and not me. (it's totally me, but just pretend it's Artie.)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Quinn POV:**

The next couple of weeks passed quickly, and before I knew it, I found myself calling my boss to say I would need a couple more weeks, which was completely alright with her. I thought about just telling her I wasn't coming back, but decided maybe I should wait a bit before doing that. Things could still go wrong, right? I needed to have a backup plan.

We'd settled into a bit of a routine. Every morning, I'd get up, and make breakfast for Artie before he went to work. I'd also make him a lunch. While he was at work, I'd try and find things to do around the apartment, but that got old really fast. It could only be cleaned so much, and I really couldn't rearrange the furniture every day.

Finally, I told him that I was going to go back to my place while he was at work to get a few more things. At first he said maybe it should wait until he had a day off so we could go together, but I didn't really want to wait, and I managed to convince him it would be alright.

It was strange being back in my place...it looked the same, and yet it felt completely different. What had once felt like home now felt like somewhere I was just visiting. Artie's apartment felt like home.

I walked around the apartment for a few minutes, trying to figure out what I should take. I had brought my empty suitcases, so it would be easy to take things out, and I decided to open them up on the table so I could start putting things into them.

At first, I grabbed a few more clothes, before realizing I didn't actually need anymore. Then, I grabbed a couple of books, before realizing I didn't really want to spend much time reading.

Then I saw my painting supplies, and knew that I definitely had to take them. I gathered up as much as I could...paints, brushes, palettes, canvases...everything. My car was going to be packed. I wasn't sure where I was going to paint, but maybe we could reorganize the spare bedroom a bit to make some space. I wasn't planning on painting anything huge, but it would be nice to have a space where I could leave things out and not have to put them away when I was done.

Finally, I was ready to leave. My apartment looked like a shell of what it used to be. I had taken things from all over everywhere, and it no longer looked like somewhere I wanted to be. It just looked like somewhere to store my stuff.

I got back in my car, and just as I was about to drive away, my cell phone rang.

"Hi Quinn...where are you? I'm home, and you're not here."

Artie always was good at stating the obvious. I looked at the clock, and saw that it was already 5:30. Apparently I'd been in there a lot longer than I thought I had, because I got there just after noon and thought I'd only been there for an hour.

"Hey babe...sorry! I guess time got away from me. I'm just leaving the apartment to come home. I promise I'll be there as quickly as possible."

I noticed that I didn't say "my apartment," and wondered if he noticed it too. It wasn't my apartment anymore, just a place I used to live.

"Don't drive too fast...I'll be here whenever you get back. Love you!"

After telling him I loved him too, I hung up and started the car.

The drive back was relatively uneventful. It started to rain, and the road was a bit slick, but I made it back in one piece. I always hated driving in the rain. I hoped Artie hadn't noticed it was raining, because he was always nervous about that. It had been raining the day of his accident.

When I pulled into the driveway, I noticed that the apartment looked brighter than usual. I decided I could wait until morning to unload everything...it wasn't going to go anywhere. I just needed to get inside and see him.

I opened the door, and could smell food. That was odd...Artie didn't cook. He must have ordered something.

When I walked into the kitchen, my breath caught in my chest. There were candles on the table. And flowers. And what looked to be an entire buffet of Greek food.

"I thought about cooking, but decided this would probably be nicer for both of us," he said, coming around the corner.

"Artie, this is so sweet. What's the occasion?"

He grinned. "It's our two week anniversary, and I thought I'd do something special. I had planned on doing something anyway, so the fact that you weren't here when I got home worked in my favour. Not that I wish you weren't here, it just worked better this way."

Our two week anniversary. I completely forgot about that. Oops.

"I can't believe it's already been two weeks, it's gone by so fast..." I trailed off, trying to think of something I could say that would make it look like I hadn't forgotten.

He just grinned wider at the fact that it had slipped my mind. Other people might have been mad, or slightly offended, but not Artie. It had been an unusual courtship for both of us, and nothing is ever perfect, so we both just went with whatever happened...or didn't happen, in my case.

Dinner was wonderful. He had bought such a variety of food that we both ate way too much, and there were still enough leftovers that I knew what we'd both be having for lunch the next day.

After dinner, we cleaned up the kitchen together, and then went to the living room to watch a movie. We sat on the couch, wrapped up in each other and a blanket for about half an hour, before Artie started to get up, saying he had forgotten something.

He took off down the hall, and came back a few minutes later. He was smiling, and I could tell that something was up. It wasn't his normal smile, but rather that mischievous, sneaky one he sometimes ended up with when he was trying to keep a secret. He was never good at keeping secrets...he'd always either be so obvious that it was clear he was hiding something, or he'd just blurt it out and then throw his hands over his mouth in shame. So adorable.

He continued smiling, as he got back on the couch, saying nothing. I could tell he was just dying to tell me what was going on, but he managed to keep it together until the end of the movie.

After the tv was off, he turned, took my hand, and pulled a small, blue box out of his pocket.

**A/N: TO BE CONTINUED...from Artie's POV. Please don't hate me too much for the suspense...I will post the next chapter either tomorrow, or Tuesday.**

**I've made this a couple of weeks later, just to speed things up a tiny bit. Hope that's alright. At the rate we're moving, this story is going to be 4099 chapters long and about 10 million words if I don't take some action!**

**I know there's not too much action here, but I thought some good old character development/filler would be nice. Plus...Artie having dinner ready when she got back was really cute, so...hahaha.**

**!Also! Violet-Shadow and I are coauthoring a story, called "Never Knew, This Dream of Mine." If you like my stories and/or you like hers, you should definitely check this out! If you read, please leave us a review...we both like them a lot. It's posted under her name, and she's writing the Quinn parts, while I'm writing Artie.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Artie POV:**

The look on Quinn's face was impossible to read when I pulled the box out of my pocket.

She looked nervous. And excited. And apprehensive. And shocked. All at the same time.

At first I thought it might be a little weird to put that in a ring box...but then I realized that was the only little box I could find, and so it would have to do. I was kind of worried she might think it was a ring. I think she was kind of worried it might be one, too.

It's too early for that. Live together? Sure. Marriage proposal? No.

...not yet, anyway. Not that it hadn't been on my mind, but you know what they say about fools rushing in...

I handed her the box, and she opened it. As she pulled out the piece of paper I had folded up and stuffed inside, her expression softened, and the apprehension and nervousness faded, leaving behind a happy little smile. Yeah. She was definitely glad it wasn't a ring.

"Sorry about the box...that was all I could find. I hope you didn't think..."

She cut me off. "Honestly, Artie, I didn't know what to think, so I thought I'd just open it and see what was inside." She was smiling. I took that as a good sign.

She unfolded the paper, and read it out loud.

"Artie, your week's vacation has been approved. See you on the 19th. Enjoy!"

I had applied for some time off the week before, and had just heard back that day.

"Artie, you're taking a week off? That's great! That way we can spend some quality time together!"

I had definitely made the right choice. For the next half hour, all she talked about was everything she wanted us to do while I was off.

The list of things she wanted to do included everything from getting together with my parents, to lying in bed cuddling for an entire day, to looking at getting some new towels. It looked like we were going to be busy.

We snuggled into each other a bit more on the couch, and then went to bed.

"Artie, wake up! It's the first day of your days off!"

I was still completely passed out, and jolted awake when she whispered/squealed into my ear. I didn't even know it was possible for someone to whisper and squeal at the same time.

"Blaaaarg. It's not! It's Saturday...my first official day off is Monday."

She giggled, and hit me with a pillow.

"Get up. I have a surprise for you," she said, jumping out the bed and walking down the hall.

She had a surprise for me? She must have had this planned before I told her I had time off, because there wasn't time for her to orchestrate a surprise between 11pm and 8am. Was there?

In the time it took me to get out of bed and put myself together, the apartment was oddly quiet. I kind of wondered what she was up to, and, as I wheeled out into the kitchen, I figured I'd be finding out soon.

The first thing I saw was the huge picnic basket on the table, surrounded by more food than would be needed for five people. Then I noticed she also had a stack of brochures lying beside it.

"Ok...we're going on a picnic today, and then we're going to do one of these things. Pick one!"

She had brochures from the zoo, the aquarium, a butterfly garden, and a bunch of other things. So THAT'S what she was doing when I called home on my lunch break and she wasn't there!

"I will admit...I went to that tourist information place in the mall to get these. I wanted us do something fun and different, and I thought that would one of these might be nice."

I looked through them, before suggesting we check out the butterfly garden, and the rock and mineral show at the convention centre. I'd never been to the butterfly place before, and the rock show wasn't going to be there for much longer...we could go to the zoo or the aquarium anytime, especially since I was going to be off..

"Where are you planning on us picnicking? You know it's November, right?" I asked.

She smiled. "Don't worry, I've got that taken care of already. Let's have breakfast, cuddle for a bit, and then get ready to leave."

* * *

"Quinn, are we allowed to be in here?"

She laughed, and explained that we were.

"Of course...this is my grandma's back yard!"

Wait...her grandma? I didn't know she had a living grandmother...we hadn't really talked about it, I guess.

"Your grandma has a heated gazebo with a wheelchair ramp in her back yard?" I was totally confused. I didn't even know there was such a thing as a heated gazebo.

She explained that her grandma loved being outside and sitting her gazebo, and as she got older it got harder for her to be out in the cold and to get around, so she had the gazebo customized so it could be heated. There was a small table in the middle, and the entire ceiling had been replaced with tinted glass.

"Did you invite her to join us?" I thought that was the least we could do, if we were going to picnic in her yard.

"No...she's cruising the Mediterranean right now with some of her friends. I've been checking on her house every couple of days while she's gone, but didn't tell you because I wanted this to be a surprise!"

She was so excited. It was adorable.

The picnic was great. She had made so many different things...it was like a buffet, in a gazebo.

After we ate, and she had packed everything back into the basket (which she must have brought from her house...I knew didn't have one of those), we sat for a bit on the small porch swing that was up against one of the walls. It was a bit awkward, because I kept sliding down, but eventually we got into a position where we were both comfortable and securely on the bench.

"This is so nice...I wish we lived somewhere like this. It's so beautiful, and so peaceful."

We. She said she wished WE lived somewhere like this.

"It is really nice, and I would love to live somewhere like this. Maybe we'd have a dog, and..." I trailed off. I almost told her I thought it would be nice if we had kids. I knew that might be a touchy subject, and I was so glad that I managed to stop myself before blurting it out. I hoped she hadn't noticed I was going to say something else. Why did my mind keep racing ahead like that, when it was me that had said we needed to slow down?

"And what?" she asked.

I could feel my face flush as I tried to avoid her gaze. That lasted for all of two seconds, and before I knew it I found myself staring into her eyes.

"Nothing," I said, hoping it sounded convincing.

"You were going to say something else, weren't you? You can tell me."

This would not end well if I told her the truth.

"I was going to say we should also get a cat," I said.

"Aren't you allergic to cats? Artie, why won't you tell me what you were going to say? If it's what I think it is, then it's ok. I've thought about it too. I always said I'd never do that again, but being with you these last couple of weeks is starting to change how I feel about that. I mean, obviously we shouldn't rush into anything, but if we do stay together, I would like it if we a child. Or two. And a dog."

"I..." I didn't know how to respond. Was she reading my mind? Should I have pulled on a tinfoil hat? (Did that even work on things besides alien mind control rays?)

"I didn't want to say it, because I thought it might be a touchy subject," I said, immediately wishing I'd worded that better.

"Artie, that was a long time ago. I'm different...and this is different."

"I love you," I said, moving closer to her.

"I love you too."

We sat on the swing for another half hour or so, just being with each other. We didn't need to talk. Just sitting holding each other was enough.

Eventually, we decided we'd better get moving, if we were going to see the butterflies and the rock show.

* * *

We learned several things that afternoon. The first was, no matter how the butterfly garden boasted on their brochure that they were a fully wheelchair-accessible facility, butterflies and wheelchairs do not mix. After almost running over two large moths and a small bird that was hopping around the path, we decided that maybe Quinn should steer my chair, and I could clear the way of "livestock" with my hands.

I took a bunch of pictures of Quinn surrounded by butterflies and the pretty little birds they have there, and she took some of me swatting Luna moths out of the way so they wouldn't get run over.

When we were finished, we stopped at the gift shop, and I bought her a small butterfly pendant made of silver, garnet and amber. She loved it.

"I'm really glad you picked this place, Artie...I'd never been here before," she said, as we headed out to the car.

"Neither have I. I'm glad you liked it," I replied. "Now...off to the rock show!"

* * *

When I had suggested the rock and mineral show, she said she'd like that, but I had my suspicions as to whether that was actually the case. Of all the brochures she had picked, it was the one that stood out. There were no pretty butterflies, cute animals, or anything like that, just a bunch of booths filled with rocks and minerals.

"Quinn, if you don't want to go in here, we can do something else," I said, looking up at her as we waited in line to get in.

"No, I want to. I think it looks like it's going to be really neat!"

She looked enthusiastic, and she didn't seem like she was faking it, so I decided that maybe she actually did want to be there.

"Ooooh, Artie, look at that!" she said, pointing to a large amethyst geode at the first booth. It was about the size of our coffee table, and when I looked at the price tag, I shuddered a bit.

"$10,000...are they kidding here?"

Clearly she had seen it too, and we laughed as we headed to the next booth.

After almost two hours of wandering around the rock show, we left with a couple of small polished rocks that Quinn had picked out, and a (much) smaller amethyst geode than the one we'd look at when we first arrived. It was about the size of a volleyball, and, while it wasn't cheap, we decided it would be perfect on our coffee table, and if we pooled our resources, it was something we could afford.

There it was again. "Our" coffee table. Her words, not mine.

As we headed to the car, I thought about the day. It had been amazing. She was amazing. I knew we'd be doing more of these sorts of things in the future. And I was happy.

**A/N: I had a request that we see more of them interacting, and so we begin a series of chapters about that! I had planned on Artie taking some time off anyway, so this works quite well (I think, anyway).**

**If there's anything you'd like to see them do, let me know! He has an entire week off.**

**Also, just in case you're wondering...yes, this story is going to go on forever. And ever. And ever. I know how I want it to end, but we're not even close.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Quinn POV:**

I was so glad that Artie got the week off. I'd been feeling like we hadn't been spending enough time together, and I think he was feeling it too...or he wouldn't have booked a week off. I had some savings, but they were starting to run out, and he was supporting both of us most of the time. I kept telling him I'd go find a job somewhere, but he said I shouldn't until we knew what we were doing.

The day after our ridiculously busy picnic/butterfly/rock show day, we decided to just hang out at home. I set our geode on the coffee table, and we just sat there for a few minutes looking at it. It was our first purchase together. The first of many, I hoped.

We spent most of the morning lying in bed cuddling and whispering sweet nothings (whatever that means...) into each other's ears. Finally Artie decided that we should at least make it to the living room. I would have been content to spend all day in bed with him, but he started moving around more and it looked like his back might be hurting, so I thought we probably should get up. He'd had some problems with it over the last couple of years, and I was constantly worrying that it might be giving him trouble.

When I looked at the clock, I was shocked to see that it was already 2 in the afternoon. Neither of us had eaten, and just as I finished that thought I heard Artie's stomach grumble. He grinned, and said that maybe we should go out for "blunch." I told him I thought it was called "brunch," and he said that we were about an hour too late for that. Anything after 1pm is called "blunch," apparently.

We thought about it for a bit, before deciding not to go out. Neither one of us really wanted to put on "real" clothes, so we sat on the couch and ate BLTs that I made. Artie declared them the "best blunch ever." I was pretty sure he would have said that regardless of what I'd served.

Blunch on the couch turned into cuddling on the couch, which resulted in both of us wrapped around each other lying under a blanket. We watched a movie, and then Artie found a special on the Discovery Channel about butterflies, so we watched that. It was really neat to watch it and say "hey, we saw those!"

Around 5, I noticed that he was starting to get restless. It was like he couldn't get comfortable anymore, and every so often he looked like he might be in pain. I asked him if he was ok, and he waved me off, saying that he was fine. This happened a couple more times, before he admitted that his back was kind of sore. He said he was going to go grab a painkiller, but before he could move, I was already up, grabbing it for him. He attempted to protest, before deciding that it would be futile.

I noticed on the bottle it said "may cause drowsiness," but if I'd known how it would knock him out entirely, I would have insisted that he go to bed before taking it. Before I knew what was happening, he was passed out on the couch, completely unresponsive to...pretty much everything. There wasn't much I could do, so I arranged a pillow under his head, took off his glasses, covered him with a blanket, and went in search of something to do. I thought about making dinner, but had no idea how long he'd be out, so I decided to just make a sandwich. I could always make him something when he woke up.

I went into the spare bedroom, deciding I'd work on a painting I had started a few days earlier. I'd decided to try my hand at painting "real" things, as opposed to what Artie affectionately called my "Quinntastic abstract art," and had set up a picture from a magazine that I was attempting to copy. It was a closeup of an orange flower, and it was proving to be a lot harder than I could ever have imagined. I thought maybe next time I should try something simple, like an apple, but I had started, and I was determined to finish.

I painted for what seemed like about half an hour, before I heard movement in the living room. I glanced at the clock, and saw that it was already after 9. Had I really spent four hours painting?

I called Artie's name softly as I stepped out of the room, and was met by the sight of an arm waving from the couch and something that sounded like a muffled "I'm awake."

"Next time you're going to take something like that, can you please warn me if it's going to knock you out like that?" I asked, sitting in the chair beside the couch.

"Sorry...I've never actually taken one of those when I wasn't about to go to sleep anyway, so I had no idea it would be that...fast-acting. What time is it?"

I glanced at the clock. "It's just after nine. You've been out for about four hours."

Suddenly, I felt his hand grab my wrist, and before I knew it, I was lying on top of him.

"Artie...your back is sore. We shouldn't be doing this right now," I said, trying gingerly to get off him without putting pressure anywhere.

"It's ok...I think I'm high. It'll be fine," he said, pulling me closer.

Wait...it would be fine because he was high? It was definitely not going to be fine!

"Why don't we go to bed?" That wasn't what I had planned, but I thought it was probably the best place for him.

He looked like he was attempting to think for a minute, before shrugging and trying to get up...apparently forgetting that I was currently straddling his hips.

"Here...let me get off you before you get up," I said, holding on to the back of the couch as I attempted to slide/pull myself off. After about ten minutes and lots of quiet laughter, he was in his chair...mostly.

"I think you're going to have to drive. I don't want to be pulled over for driving under the influence," he said, with a sly grin on his face. He looked completely out to lunch, and I kind of wished I'd had a camera to take a picture of his face.

At one point he actually started conducting an invisible orchestra that only he could hear. I decided that he was right, and pushed his chair into the bedroom.

Shortly thereafter, I found myself lying in bed next to him, while he told a story about how he spent much of his high school life wondering what it would be like to be with Quinn Fabray. At some points I wasn't even sure if he was actually aware of the fact that he was talking to me...he was totally out of it. If I had known where he kept the video camera (I assumed he had one...he seemed to have every other electronic device known to man), I would have made a video to show him when he wasn't high.

All of a sudden, his story stopped, and he started to snore. At least we got to spend the first part of the day together...

**A/N: Continuing along the line of them spending some quality time together. I kind of don't want Artie to go back to work ever, but that will have to happen again eventually. I'm thinking I can get another chapter or two out of their adorable bonding time before I need to send him back to the grind.**

**And yes...I know this chapter is just useless fluff, for the most part. Most of this story is, and it's about to get a whole lot more fluffy and wonderful. Think of it as character development. All of my other stories are pretty realistic and deal with things that could actually happen, and this is my guilty pleasure "go all out" sappy story. Not that things from this story COULDN'T happen, but I'm a realist and believe that what most of what happens here isn't very likely in the real world.**

**Sorry this has taken so long to get posted...things have been a little crazy lately.**


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